600 Highwaymen's THIS GREAT COUNTRY Set for River to River 2013, Now thru 7/13

Founded in 2009 by Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone, 600 HIGHWAYMEN creates highly inventive, wholly immersive productions that re-imagine the live theatrical experience for audiences. Often using a group of professional and non-professional actors, 600 HIGHWAYMEN bravely create visceral events that more resemble social situations than theater. And yet, the Company's works binds spectator and performer in a powerful shared theatrical experience.

Following a critically-acclaimed, sold-out run in Austin as part of the Fusebox Festival, This Great Country, 600 HIGHWAYMEN's most ambitious work to date, will make its New York premiere today, July 10-13 as part of River To River 2013. This Great Country is a reaction to and an examination of Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Death of a Salesman and will be performed in a vacant storefront near Wall Street. Using a varied cast of 17 performers, ages 7-70, This Great Countycollides with American capitalism and makes all too real our immediate present.

This Great County employs 600 HIGHWAYMEN's highly charged blend of community meeting and theatrical event to not only reveal the themes of Miller's play, but also to heighten the refreshing individuality of the cast, many of whom take on multiple roles. In fact, a middle-agEd White male, a male Korean immigrant, a 43 year-old black male and a 35 year-old, Nigerian-born female all play the Willy Loman character at different times. "By using non-traditional casting techniques," said Andy Horwitz in Culturebot, "600 Highwaymen succeeded in decoupling Miller's play from its iconography, returning the focus to the plot, characters and situation."

Performances of This Great Country will take place today, July 10-13 at 8pm at the Pier 17 Storefront in the South Street Seaport section of Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of the first performance, July 10, which will also serve as the official opening. The running time is 105 minutes with no intermission. The event is free. Reservations are required and can be made at rivertorivernyc.com.

This Great Country, like many pieces by 600 HIGHWAYMAN, is intentionally sparse, and although not a site-specific work, the location is paramount. The set is metal folding chairs. The lighting is non-theatrical. This staging not only heightens the isolation of Miller's characters, but also raises the audiences' awareness of their fellow strangers and the physical space of the performance - an empty storefront near Wall Street. Working from this stark palette, This Great Country transports the audience into a kind of hyper-present that is human, vulnerable and ultimately, very satisfying.

This Great Country is directed by Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone and features performances by Stuart Bruce-Noble, Matt Butterfield, Lana Dieterich, Andrew Dinwiddie, Stacey Dotson, Ian Etheridge, Michael Etheridge, Ashley Johnson, Will Johnson, Wayne Joseph, Taaseen Khan, LUCY KAMINSKY, ManHo Kim, Derek Kolluri, Matthew Lewis, Joy Notoma and Richard Perez.

600 HIGHWAYMEN (600 HWM) is a Brooklyn-based theater company under the artistic direction of Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone. Since 2009, the company has been developing and performing a body of original productions that blend dance, theater, visual art and community meeting into igniting performance events that re-awaken the live theatrical experience for an audience. Avoiding sets, costumes and other transformative material elements, the company is exploring a radical approach to making live art. Productions are developed through creative methods ranging from conventional to peculiar, and change form with each new work. Previous works feature performers who switch roles with each new audience, live soundtracks that take the place of dialogue and traditional scripts. The common thread of all 600 HWM productions is a rigorously-tuned investigation of presence and humanity, not only in moments of performance, but in process and aftermath.

In addition to This Great Country, 600 HWM has created five works since 2009, including The Record (The Invisible Dog Arts Center, and upcoming), Everyone was Chanting Your Name (Abrons Arts Center), Empire City (University Settlement), and their inaugural two-run production, This Time Tomorrow, performed in the basement of a historic church.

600 HWM has earned a spot as a groundbreaking new star on the landscape of contemporary American theater, with performances that have been awarded distinctions by and landed on "best of" lists in L Magazine (Best of 2010) Village Voice, Time Out New York, Austin-American Statesman and Flavorpill. Silverstone and Browde have received fellowships and residencies from The Drama League, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Lincoln Center, New York State maximum-security prisons, A.R.T./NY and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Their work has been supported by the Wellspring Foundation, Puffin Foundation and Foundation for Contemporary Arts. www.600HIGHWAYMEN.org